Teenage Dream
by KawaiiTenshiCeres
Summary: When she left my life, I had to grow up. Five years later and I'm some rookie officer, about to move away to get away from the memories of her...That is until that one day that brought back the memories of my past. AkihikoxFemMC *SPOILERS for after P3P*
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Hello! To make this quick, I'm KawaiiTenshiCeres, and this is my first story on the Persona Series section of the site! So, I chose the title, 'Teenage Dream' by Katy Perry, because of the lyrics, and hopefully try and do an Akihiko and Minako story. Frankly, it was either Shinji or Aki, but I chose Aki, since he's so plain adorkable and a bit pervy(_especially with that after MAX rank scene.._) at times. So, for everyone, please help me if I ever make mistakes!

**Disclaimer: **_I, KawaiiTenshiCeres, does not own Persona 3 Portable by ATLUS, nor Teenage Dream by Katy Perry._

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**Teenage Dream**  
**Chapter One**

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"March 5th, huh?"

Slamming his fist into the punching bag, sweat broke out of a man's forehead, as it glistened in the morning sunlight. Using a white towel to wipe his forehead, the silver-haired man walked over to take a sip of water, before gazing at the calender with a thoughtful look on his face. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, before an image flashed in his mind for a brief moment. He remembered that today was the fifth year since she left the world. Five years since she gave him a smile, before closing her eyes for good. A day that should never be forgotten.

"Sanada! Finished trainin'? We need to move your stuff into the truck!" a man yelled from outside, carrying equipment to a large truck.

Looking back, a tiny smile formed on the 23 year-old Sanada Akihiko. Quickly packing up his belongings and putting it in a duffel bag, Akihiko had walked over and lightly winced at the sunshine. He looked up into the blue sky in thought, as he waved to the driver good-bye. He was going to visit Gekkoukan and his old dormitory before heading onto the train to the next city over. Slowly closing his eyes, he wanted to remember all those things from his high school days. Both the good and the bad.

"_Sanada-senpai?_"

_Large red eyes gazed at her upperclassman thoughtfully, as she sheepishly smiled while trying to ignore the evil glares from the fangirls. Arisato Minako. The transfer student who has quickly stolen the hearts of a lot of guys in her grade level. Sure, she's up in the ranks with Takeba Yukari and the Student Council President, Kirijo Mitsuru, but to Akihiko, she was the Leader of SEES. Someone he could rely on, when it came to leading the team through the levels of Tartarus._

_"Hey, Minako. Wanna hang out?" he questioned with a small smile, trying to ignore the fangirls who tried to pull him away from his dorm mate. _

_A large smile formed on her face, as she quickly nodded. "Yeah! Let's get some ramen!" she said with a forced, cheery tone, as she began to skip off to get her bag._

_"Something wrong?" he questioned looking at the SEES leader oddly. "I mean, after Shinji's accident you have-"_

_"Senpai." Minako interrupted. "We made a promise, didn't we? To not let this get to our heads... I mean, you knew about him and Ken-kun's relationship, but to me...It was all a surprise. Though, if I kept crying over what had happened, I can't change the past." she muttered, brushing back her bangs to try and prevent herself from crying._

_Gently taking her hand with his hand, the pair hid in a dark area of the hallway, as a surprised Minako looked at him strangely. Tugging her hand, they began to walk up the stairs instead of going to the school entrance. A confused Minako had quietly followed him, wondering what was up with him. The door flew open as the pair found themselves on the empty rooftop overlooking the city. Akihiko sat down on the concrete bench apparently feeling angry for a moment, while Minako stood there, wondering what was wrong._

_"Senpai...?" Minako questioned, lightly touching his shoulder._

_"Minako. Shinji's been in love with you.." he murmured clenching his fist tightly. "It was clear wasn't it?" he questioned. _

_The leader's face turned red, while she was about to open her mouth to quickly object. Before she could, she saw the boxer standing up, displaying a pained look on his face. _

_"Sanada-senpai?" she questioned. "Listen, I..."_

_"...I...I want you to be my girl, Minako." he said with a small blush on his face. "Though, I keep telling myself that I'm stealing something precious to my best friend. It doesn't feel right...So now...If you don't have feelings for me like that, then, it's fine. I won't make you answer now..." _

_"Wait!" she shouted, quickly grabbing his hand. "I know..I meant so much to Senpai. I didn't want him to go away! But...You should know..." she stopped for a moment to wipe her newly formed tears for a moment, before looking up at Akihiko. "Back when I first met you, I wanted Junpei to help me try to be with you, but I thought you were with Mitsuru-senpai. You two were __meant__for each other. " she smiled. "But...no matter what, I still love you, Senpai."_

_Gently hugging her, Akihiko smiled to himself, as Minako buried her face in his chest. "Thank god." he muttered. "I...don't want to lose you."_

"-hiko...Akihiko! You're not paying any attention. I will probably arrange for your belongings to be set up by the time you get there." Mitsuru scolded. "Come now, I'll drop you off at the dormitory."

Snapping out of his trance. Akihiko looked at the redhead before him. She was wearing a business attire, her boots tapping impatiently at the floor. Her eyes stared at him strangely, as she turned to go to her car. The boxer sighed for a moment as he grabbed his jacket and headed out the door of his apartment. Akihiko had a feeling that he might miss this town, especially the dorm.

* * *

"Feels smaller than before.."

_"You think I'm pretty without any makeup on.  
You think I'm funny, when I tell the punchline wrong.  
I know you get me, so I let my walls come down...  
Down..."_

Eyes slowly wandered back and forth hearing the faint English music flowing through the air. Akihiko looked up at the school, and closed his eyes for a moment. He remembered one day where he walked with Minako through these gates, and she was listening to a song with some English in it. Even though her earphones were blasting up the music, she was still happily talking to him with a bright smile on her face.

"Minako..." he muttered softly. "Heh. No use trying to call you out from here." he said to himself, before turning to walk off, passing by a teenager singing the song with a tone-deaf sound in her voice.

"_Let's go all the way tonight.  
No regrets. Just love.  
We can dance until we die.  
You and I.  
We'll be young forever._"

_

* * *

_"..._You make me feel like I'm livin' in a teenage dream.  
The way you turn me on.  
I can't sleep.  
Let's run away and don't ever look back, don't ever look back._"

No matter where he went, all he heard was that song, nothing more. He had found himself in front of his old dorm where he noticed something was up. A girl with brown hair was staring up at the doors of the dorm. She had a ponytail with clips carefully arranged making it look like the roman numeral number '22' in her hair. Clearly, she was lost in thought, watching the doors with a blank look on her face, while the music had been blasted up. Her blood red eyes slowly glanced to the side for a brief moment, looking at the man with a slightly concerned look.

"...Aki...?" she said softly. "Sanada...Akihiko-san?"

"Minako?" he questioned. _No...No! She can't be here. She's supposed to be dead! Don't tell me..._

The woman's arms were quickly wrapped around his waist, her head pressed against his chest. "How long has it been since we've been like this...?"

Akihiko stayed silent. He gently held Minako close to him, before hearing footsteps.

"Akihiko! Are you done...?" Mitsuru trailed off, apparently surprised at the sight of Minako. "...Arisato? Wait...Why is she here...?"

Releasing Akihiko, Minako gazed at her upperclassmen with a quiet look on her face. Clenching her bag for a moment, the former SEES leader took a deep breath. She knew the news was going to probably make the two of them hate her.

"Mitsuru-senpai...Aki...I was released from Nyx. I don't know how long I have in this world, but I'm here to tell you...We were supposed to look for the 'Shichi Fukujin' or 'The Seven Lucky Gods', that are scattered amongst Japan in order for us to create a strong seal that might be similar to the seal I used against Nyx. The only concern is that Nyx is being reborn in a human child somewhere in Japan, and we don't know when Nyx will be resurrected."

"I see." Mitsuru said, closing her eyes, before taking out her cell phone. "I shall contact the others and have them assemble back here."

"Thank you." Minako smiled, before looking down.

"However...Once we create a new seal...I will forever be erased from your memories.."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **_Just to let you guys know, I'll be referencing an event that most of you haven't gotten in the game...(Unless I'm somehow wrong...Then sorry.) If you guys should know by now, like Shinji, Aki has an event after you max out his social link. You go to his room again, and it leads to 'You spent a long time with Akihiko...', you'll see! _

**Disclaimer: **_I, KawaiiTenshiCeres, does not own Persona 3 Portable by ATLUS, nor Teenage Dream by Katy Perry._

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**Teenage Dream**  
**Chapter Two**

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"_However...Once we create a new seal...I will forever be erased from your memories.._"

"Y-You're not serious, are you?"

Akihiko stared at the woman, who quietly stood there with a thoughtful look on her face. She forced a smile upon her face, as she looked down in sadness. Holding his gloved hand, Minako pressed her head against his chest, listening to his heart beating. She knew that her upperclassman was a bit shy, especially since only ten minutes had passed, and knowing that she was alive and well was still being taking in.

"For now, I want to do whatever it takes for the short time we have." Minako said softly, closing her eyes, clenching the back of his shirt tightly in her hands. "I'm just happy to feel your warmth once more..."

The boxer turned bright red in embarassment, obviously ignoring the fact that Mitsuru had a slightly embarassed look on her face, simply just by the sound of it. He remembered the times where he simply messed up her hair with his hand, the exact same way he treated Miki when she was still alive. Though, after Minako became his girlfriend, he couldn't just flat out say, '_I love you_'. He only physically shown her his feelings...Which was in bed. And he recalled only doing it three times. Once was simply at the moment, the second time...Well, he remembered it clearly, and the third was during Christmas when her ears were 'cold'.

"Something wrong, Aki?" Minako questioned.

"Senpai! I didn't know you were leaving today! So I'm here to say bye!" a male voice shouted. "Wait...You told me that you were never going to forget Minako...So who is this...?"

Minako glanced back at her former classmate in thought. Her eyes widened in shock seeing how different her buddy is. Iori Junpei was his name, and unlike before, he didn't sport his infamous baseball cap. Instead he was in a business suit, where the tie and his shirt was loose and wrinkled. It already made him look like a student again. Junpei kept his gaze at Akihiko, before he was smacked in the arm by Minako, who was a bit mad at him for not knowing it.

"You jerk! _I'm_ Minako!" she shouted, giving him a childish pout.

"No way! Minako-tan's been dead for 5 years! I'm pretty sure I'm not hallucinating!" Junpei argued.

"Silence!" Mitsuru interrupted. "Iori, this is Arisato. The whole reason why I called you, is so that we need you to help us once again." she explained.

Junpei simply gaped at his upperclassman, before looking at Minako again. "MINAKO-TAN!" he smiled brightly. "YOU'RE ALIVE!" he shouted, on the verge of tackling the poor girl, but realized he was under the watchful eye of Akihiko.

"Anyways, since this dormitory was refurbished for the usage of college students, but since it's still under the Kirijo company's control, we're allowed to use it. It couldn't hurt for us to dorm together again after all." the redhead smiled. "You all will get your original room assignments." she ordered. "Takeba, Yamagishi, and Amada will come here in a matter of hours with Koromaru and Aegis. For the meantime, just go on in."

Opening the door, the remaining three gazed in thought seeing that the lounge was more 'modern' in a way compared to the comfy setting it was before. Junpei plopped down on the black leather sofa, while Akihiko and Minako went upstairs. Luckily, they didn't really change the hallways that they were used to. The couple went towards Akihiko's old room, and opened the door, noticing that the bed had changed, along with a unique looking desk with it.

Minako quietly walked on in and sat on the bed, quickly moving her hand to signal Akihiko to sit next to her.

"Reminds me of the first time you invited me in here." she smiled. "Though the second time was much more awkward than the first..." she trailed off.

"The second time, huh..?" Akihiko questioned looking up at the cream colored ceiling.

"You said something naughty didn't you?" she laughed. "I couldn't blame you. We were both still in high school..."

* * *

_"Hey, Aki!" Minako smiled, heading down the stairs from the second floor. _

_Akihiko waved to his underclassman, and noticed his fangirls were a tad bit jealous that out of all girls, he chose the oh-so-popular transfer student. Well, they couldn't blame him. He was interested in her after she listened to his problems, and most of all, she reminded him of Miki. He never knew falling in love was so simple, and yet he just played it off like it was nothing. He thought he was protecting a little sister, but instead, he fell in love with her instead._

_"Oh, Minako..." he trailed off. "...If you ever feel down, you should know I'd do anything for you. Me...and the others...We all feel the same way." he continued with a small smile on his face. _

_"Thanks!" she said cheerfully. _

_"You always take too much on yourself. You worry me, you know?" he lightly scolded with a sigh._

_"I know...I'll try my best to take it easy...And not think about it okay?" she nodded._

_An awkward silence passed them, as the SEES leader looked at Akihiko with an odd look on her face. His face turned red, whie he tried to look away, hoping that she wouldn't poke fun at his embarassment. _

_"What? Don't stare at me so much..." he muttered. "D-Don't you need to be somewhere?" he questioned. _

_Minako shook her head for a moment before Akihiko hesitantly nodded._

_"All right. If not, then...You wanna come to my room again...?" he questioned._

_The girl looked at him with a tinted blush, as the fangirls were quickly chattering to each other about this. Her eyes glanced to the side, before nodding to him. _

_"Of course! Let's hope the others won't see." she giggled, taking his hand._

_"O-Okay." he studdered."Th-Then...let's go."_

_Luckily, no one, except for Koromaru, was at the dorm. As the couple snuck into Akihiko's room, the boxer locked his door, and the two of them sat on his bed. _

_"This feels so strange...Having you in my room changes everything..." he said softly, noticing the silence between them was bothering him. "Um...It's quiet in here, isn't it?"_

_Minako glanced at him, and nodded. Okay, so Akihiko, wasn't the only one who felt weird about being alone with someone else._

_"C-C'mon, start a conversation..." he nudged her._

_The leader batted her eyes for a moment, thinking up of something. "Um...Hello." she said._

_"..Really?" he groaned. "I take back what I said. You don't have to say anything..." _

_Minako pouted, lightly smacking him in the arm playfully. He smiled, and gently kissed her on the lips. The leader pressed her head against his, as Akihiko cupped her cheek. Her eyes looked at him with hesitance, noticing his face was still a bright cherry red._

_"Just close your eyes and let our bodies do the talking." he said softly in her ear._

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"_Just close your eyes and let our bodies do the talking_..." Minako repeated, before bursting out into laughter. "You were so cute!...Eh? Aki?"

Akihiko froze up on his bed, feeling his face still bright red from embarassment. He gazed at Minako for a moment, before moving closer to her. Brushing some locks away from her face, he slowly moved over and kissed her.

"Aki..." she trailed off.

Embracing her, the boxer closed his eyes tightly. "If I forget you...Then what will happen between us?"

Minako couldn't say anything. What she heard from Theodore was that the 'Shichi Fukujin' will help seal Nyx, but in exchange, her very existence will be forgotten by the people of this world. All of her social links were going to forget her existence. The only one she knows that won't forget her is Theodore and Igor. She couldn't face Akihiko saying that they should quickly break up and not speak to each other throughout this mission.

"...I..." she trailed off.

"Senpai! Are you in there?" a female voice questioned, knocking on the door.

Opening the door, a woman clad in pink looked inside with her eyes widening in shock. With her, was a shorter woman wearing a blueish-green attire, who was also looking at Minako in total shock. They stayed silent for the time being, while Minako got up and smiled cheerfully towards them. She quietly lead them out of the room, giving Akihiko a wink, before closing the door. The boxer closed his eyes, before laying on his bed, covering his eyes.

"...She always knows when to make me feel this way..." he sighed. "Jeez...I missed her for far too long." he muttered, gently touching his lips in thought. "This'll be harder than I thought." he added, having the urge to simply punch something and meet with the others downstairs.

Akihiko walked downstairs, seeing the former members of SEES assembled at the couch. He saw the two girls from earlier eagarly chatting with Minako. He remembered they were his underclassmen, Takeba Yukari and Yamagishi Fuuka. He glanced over to see a much more taller, and mature looking Amada Ken...They were around the same height, with Ken being slightly shorter than Akihiko. Ken looked over, and quickly greeted him with a small smile on his face.

"Is everyone here?" Minako questioned.

Everyone looked around. They were all scattered around the lounge, but was able to hear it. Minako looked down for a moment, clutching the leather watch that was hidden in her skirt pocket for a brief moment.

_'...Even you will be here..._' she thought to herself.

"Well, looks like it." Junpei noted, looking back at her from the dining table. "Okay, so what's up, Minako-tan? Did Nyx suddenly give you up?" he smiled to her.

"Actually to tell you the truth..." she said softly.

Knocking on the door, everyone gazed at Minako for a moment, before the door slowly opened. Minako knew that everyone was there. Aegis and Koromaru came with Yukari and Fuuka, so who was this missing person? She couldn't think it was ..._him_, wasn't she? She didn't want to suspect that he was literally alive after all this time. A burgandy peacoat, the black beanie, the long locks. Her eyes widened, feeling tears forming in her eyes.

"Shinji! Did Mitsuru contact you?" Akihiko spoke up.

A smirk formed on Shinjiro's face, as he quietly nodded. He gazed at the frozen Minako who quickly ran up to him and gave him a tight hug. Aragaki Shinjiro, Minako's upperclassman, supposebly 'died' when he got shot back then. They were close, and by close as in, 'almost-in-a-relationship' close. Obviously, she didn't hear the news that he was released from the hospital the very same day that she died. Even those two were happy to see each other, Akihiko felt a slight sting that hit his heart. Sure, the boxer did go far with Minako, but just seeing those two quickly brought back horrible thoughts about what he had done.

"I missed you..." Minako said softly.

"I told you to not cry." Shinjiro sighed, ruffling her hair."Sheesh. Still the same as always."

"You don't know how much you worried me, jerk." she muttered wiping her tears away with the sleeve of her jacket.

"...Aki?" Shinjiro questioned, looking at his best friend who was still quiet, and had a thinking look on his face. "What's wrong?"

Akihiko grabbed Minako's hand, as he quietly lead her out the door of the dorm for them to talk privately. Everyone didn't bother running to the door just to eavesdrop on them, they had a bad feeling about what might happen. The boxer watched the leader looking down in guilt. Knawing on her lip, Minako just wanted this to end already. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at the hurt Akihiko, noticing a painful look on his face.

"...Aki...I'm...I'm still in love with Shinjiro-senpai." she confessed. "Just seeing him again...And holding him...It made me realize..."

"...Don't." he quickly said. "Minako. All those things I've done for you...Were you really in love with me, or you only needed someone there to comfort you?" he questioned.

"Of course, I still like you Aki. I will always like you, but Shinji-"

"Enough. I realized that until you get your feelings sorted out...Let's not go out anymore."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **_Oh my goodness. I haven't updated this since...October. Wow. Forgive me guys. I was about to lose hope in this story, due to the fact there were barely anyone reviewing, so I had to go on temporary hiatus with this story. I'll try to update this as much as I can! This chapter might suck a little, I admit it, but at least it's some sort of update._

_**namine23:**__ I was thinking of adding in Minato-kun, I'm still debating about it, but there is a high chance he's going to come in...Though, not in this chapter._

**Disclaimer: **_I, KawaiiTenshiCeres, does not own Persona 3 Portable by ATLUS, nor Teenage Dream by Katy Perry._

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**Teenage Dream**  
**Chapter Three**

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_It wasn't so simple watching them act like nothing had happened.  
I held her tightly when he was shot.  
I promised him I wouldn't fret over it.  
Now, that they're together, it felt like those promises were broken._

"Wait! Aki! Aki!"

Minako was running after Akihiko as he gazed at her. She stood there trying to catch her breath, as she looked at her upperclassman. His eyes stared at her. She was already sweating, especially since her outfit included a pair of high heels, which obviously looked difficult for her to run in. She slowed to a stop, gently taking his hand into hers, and her head slowly tilted up. A forced smile formed on her face.

"...Listen...I..."

"Minako." Akihiko interrupted. "I'm serious about what I said. I know my best friend loves you...But I always loved you. It's painful you know? Seeing you happy with him...At first, you were known as my cute little kouhai, but, as time went by...I never realized, I really loved you as a woman." he said. "It's going to be hard, but as long as _you're_ happy. _I'll _be happy, as long as I'm near you."

Wrapping his arms around her, Akihiko gently hugged her, while the SEES leader stood there. Her eyes battered, slowly before feeling herself choking up. Tears began to form in her eyes, while Minako pressed her eyes against his chest. Her tears soaked through his shirt, as she kept saying, '_I'm sorry_' to him multiple times. He kept hugging her, not bothering to say a word, just hugging her was enough for him.

"...Make sure Shinji doesn't make you cry again." he said in her ear, slowly releasing her.

The boxer turned to go back into the dormitory, encountering some eavesdroppers who looked up at him, before running off. His eyes met with Mitsuru's as he proceeded back to the dorm room, leaving the entire room silent. Everyone looked at each other oddly, before the nervous Junpei slowly opened his mouth.

"...So! I-I wonder what happened between them!" he said, trying to start up the conversation.

"Ugh. You really know how to ruin the moment, Stupei." Yukari retorted.

"I think we're better off trying to not get involved with Minako and Akihiko-senpai's problem." Fuuka added, softly.

"O...Oh..Right." Junpei sighed, glancing at Mitsuru, who stood up.

Letting out a sigh, and gently pushing her lengthy bangs to the side, Mitsuru looked at them with a slightly annoyed look upon her face. "I'll try to convince Akihiko to get back down here. We need to begin this meeting immediately." she stated, keeping her cool.

Heels clicked while the group watched Mitsuru walking up the stairs. The door cracked open and there stood the slightly embarassed Minako, who was trying to hide her puffy eyes from the others. Biting her lip, the SEES leader quickly stormed upstairs leaving a sighing Yukari and a worried Fuuka sitting there. The room was a tad bit silent for the time being, but most eyes were on Shinjiro. His face slowly twisted into anger, forcing him to quickly get up.

"What the hell did Aki do to her?" Shinjiro muttered, following Minako up the stairs.

* * *

"You'd better get down there immediately, Akihiko. A man your age shouldn't be moping around like this."

Mitsuru stood in front of the boxer who was simply sitting on his bed with a disappointed look on his face. It was hard for the woman to even read what Akihiko was even thinking about...One thing was for sure, all this awkward attitude is certainly going to be getting in the way of what's going on right now...If only he was here...But Mitsuru couldn't possibly think that Minako's older brother, Minato would dare mysteriously come back...Would he?

Using his hand to push back some silver hair, Akihiko couldn't dare look at his former classmate straight in the eye. "Damn it, Mitsuru. It's just that...The whole time Shinji was in the hospital... She was always by my side...And even if she was crying, I still would hold her until she stopped. It's so difficult to smile and let her go like that."

A sigh escaped the red-headed's painted lips, letting her manicured hand flip her hair. "Akihiko. You shouldn't let something so trivial as love get in the way. You should worry about this after the briefing okay? I know it's hard to lose someone, but it's tedious to not push forward." she scolded. "Anyways, you'd better get out in a few minutes otherwise, I'll punish you."

He couldn't understand why she suddenly went back to Shinjiro out of the blue. He had done so much for her...and it all went down the drain within a few seconds. He needed to punch something...but his punching bag wasn't even delivered into his room yet. Slamming his fist into the wall, the boxer let out a huge 'DAMN IT!' before leaving his room. Probably later tonight he needed to go jogging. Just run and forget his troubles, even if it was for a short while...

_Knock. Knock._

"_Hey, Aki, open up._" Shinji said.

The reluctant boxer got up and opened the door letting in his best friend. It felt so awkward confronting his friend about a girl. After all, he and Shinjiro went back so far, and yet, this long-termed friendship was getting torn down by a girl. This was frustrating. It was annoying. He couldn't think properly any longer.

"Hey. I didn't know about that whole thing with Minako, okay?" he grumbled. "Aki. You and her have been together a lot, right?" he questioned.

"Yeah." Akihiko answered. "Listen, Shinji...She...She didn't know you fully recovered from your injuries. That's why she was like that..."

The man let out a sigh, as he forced himself to nod. "Right." he agreed.

"It's hard for me to say this..." Akihiko grunted. "...But I want you to take care of her again. I know she had feelings for you, Shinji." he said getting up and heading towards the door.

"Hold up! Aki!" Shinji shouted.

"I've done my job...Now it's your turn to take care of her."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **_Eh? I didn't know you guys actually still like this story. Anyways~ More drama! In a sense. To be totally honest, this was sort of a BS, filler chapter (with an important character coming in, of course!), however, I'm actually thinking up the next chapter, which is going to be posted quite soon actually. I'll be posting this new chapter on October 16th (aka my 19th Birthday), since it'll be for you people who still supported me throughout this whole time. And yes, this is a real promise, so I'm not lying.  
_**Disclaimer: **_I, KawaiiTenshiCeres, does not own Persona 3 Portable by ATLUS, nor Teenage Dream by Katy Perry._

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**Teenage Dream**  
**Chapter Four**

* * *

_She was smiling with him ever since then.  
Even if I treated her like my little sister in front of them.  
It felt horrible to do it without feeling regret._

Akihiko tried to distance himself from where Minako and Shinjiro was sitting together. They were quite close to each other...A bit too close for his own good, but he couldn't get himself jealous over this. He didn't want to forget Minako...At the same time, he didn't want Nyx to kill them again. He wanted to focus on what's going on right now. Currently, everyone was simply silent, wondering what's going to happen next between those three.

"What the hell are we supposed to do?" Junpei groaned.

"Yeah. I mean, it's been a long time since we summoned our Personas...Can we even do it now?" Yukari questioned with a concerned look on her face.

"I only know a little bit...But...I know something about our Personas has something to do with this..." Minako spoke up, looking at them. "There wasn't much information, but...it's all I can say for now."

Everyone was quiet. They had to do some investigating, but what can they do? There wasn't any Dark Hour. There wasn't any shadows to kill. They felt weird and defenseless. They glanced at each other for a brief moment, before Fuuka spoke up.

"Well...I can try to research about those things you were talking about Minako-chan." she said. "I heard they were some Japanese legends, right?"

The hesitant brunette nodded. "...I guess so." she muttered.

"Yamagishi. I'll help you out with the research process." the red-head said. "We'll go to the command room and figure it out from there. Everyone, for now you will be able to do as you please. This may take a while." she replied.

Watching the pair go up the stairs, Yukari and Junpei simply looked at Minako, Akihiko, and Shinjiro intently.

"Well...Uh..." Minako began. "My! You've grown up so much, Ken-kun!" she said nervously.

"T-thanks." the teenager replied, trying to hide his obvious blush.

"H-Hey! Why don't we go out to eat?" Junpei interrupted. "I mean, it's been _ages_ since we hung out like this! Right, Yuka-tan?" he grinned.

Yukari sighed, and smacked him on the side of the head. "Jeez. You sound like those weird guys who hit on teenage girls."

"Doesn't matter to me." the boxer muttered, getting up. "I'm gonna go for a small jog. Just call me when you guys figure out a place."

Watching him get up, and walk out the door, Minako quickly tried to get up to follow him. Before she could, she saw him quickly beginning to jog off, making her stop in her place. She let out a sigh, and looked at the others with a forced smile on her face. She poked out a playful tongue, that made Junpei and Yukari look at her with some concern. Junpei stood up and quietly wrapped an arm around Minako's shoulder, quietly pulling her away from the group.

"W-What's up, Junpei?" she questioned.

"_What happened to you?_" he muttered in a more serious tone. "_How could you give up Akihiko-senpai so easily? I promised you I'd help you hook up with him._"

"...I don't know Junpei..." she said, looking down. "But...I love Shinjiro-senpai as much as Aki. Aki...he's popular, isn't he? He can find someone better than me..."

Prying his arm over her shoulder, Minako began to walk and looked over at Ken and Yukari with a bright smile. They decided to go to the Wakatsu Restaurant and Yukari had called up Akihiko to join them...

* * *

"I haven't eaten here with you guys in so long!"

Yukari smiled brightly, trying to ignore the awkward aura around the place. It was a forced seating arrangement. Minako was sitting across from Akihiko, trying to not look at him while she quietly ate. It was a quiet time for SEES...but then again, it was quite weird to have them eat in silence, when they normally chat about something. The only ones trying to perk up the group were Yukari and Junpei...Though, their constant attempts at doing so ended so badly.

"Anyways, what've you guys been doing lately?" Yukari questioned.

"School." Ken simply replied, as everyone else kept silent.

Yukari sighed. "Okay. I've had enough. Junpei. Ken. Aegis. Let's go." she commanded.

"Wait, Yuka-"

"See you at the dorm!" the brunette smiled towards Minako, as the four of them headed towards the entrance of the restaraunt.

Before they could leave, however, Junpei accidentally bumped shoulders with a young man, who nearly stumbled over at the entrance.

"Oh, sorry." Junpei replied, stopping in his place. "...What the...?"

The man's eyes widened at the sight of the blue-haired man, who looked at him oddly. The man took off his earphone, and nodded to Junpei. If it wasn't _too_ obvious, Yukari and Aegis were simply stunned. The handsome young man before them was one of the two who had helped lead SEES. Compared to his darling little twin sister, Minato was mainly in charge of leading the team through some of the Full Moon Missions, along with switching off leadership roles when it came to going through Tartarus. Besides, after that last battle against Nyx, he had to sacrifice himself along with Minako in order for them to completely seal Nyx away...

"So, you did come back..." Yukari muttered, looking away, trying to hold back the tears.

"Yes. It's been a while, Minato-kun." Aegis nodded with a tiny smile forming on her face.

"Oniichan..." Minako muttered. "Did Elizabeth tell you anything?" she questioned, quickly getting up to give her brother a brief hug.

He was showing signs of now wanting to say anything. He simply looked away. Both Akihiko and Shinjiro got up and slowly approached the other SEES leader, wanting to hear this answer clearly. In their own ways, they looked like they wanted to hit the guy if he dared made Minako cry. The blue-haired man let out a sigh, glancing at them, hoping they wouldn't get _too_ mad at him for bringing the bad news.

"Listen Minako," he started. "Promise me you won't attack me, okay?"

"...Fine." she muttered, trying to be as calm as she could.

"...Our time here is a lot shorter than you think.  
We're not going to just disappear from everyone's memories.  
We're going to die."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **_Happy Birthday to me~ Yup. I'm almost the legal age to drink in Japan. So...This is a 'nice' update from me. Sooo~ The song featured in this chapter is Hirai Ken's Boku wa Kimi ni Koi wo Suru, it's from the manga-turned-live-action movie, Boku no Hatsukoi ni Kimi ni Sasagu ~I Give My First Love to You~.  
_**Disclaimer: **_I, KawaiiTenshiCeres, does not own Persona 3 Portable by ATLUS, nor Teenage Dream by Katy Perry._

* * *

**Teenage Dream**  
**Chapter Five**

* * *

_She was trying her best. _

"You're lying right?"

_She wasn't looking too good at all._

"Oniichan! You're lying, aren't you? Please tell me this isn't true!"

Minako watched him shake his head, making her stand there in total shock. She pushed her brother aside, quickly rushing out the door, ignoring the voices of her fellow concerned SEES members. She didn't know where she went. She simply just ran. She slowed down to a stop to catch her breath, feeling the tears forming in her eyes. She had a real time limit. She was going to die _again._ She wanted to live as long as she could...just so she could have happiness.

"Damn it..." she cursed to herself, stopping in her place.

She glanced up at where she was at. Was it strange that she was in front of Gekkoukan High School? Plugging her red earphones into her ears, she set her mp3 player on shuffle. Whenever she was even _near_ this school, she always had to play a song. It was practically a theme song of what ever was going on at the moment. Her mp3 player was packed was various songs that were recommended by her by some of her other friends, like Rio or Saori, or some songs she basically liked.

"Out of all times, it came up to this song..." Minako whispered, covering her eyes.

さようなら、ありがとう、好きだよ、好きだよ、  
_Goodbye, thank you, I love you, I love you _

さようなら、笑ってよ、泣くなよ、バカだな _  
Goodbye, won't you laugh, please don't cry, you're so silly _

伝えたい言葉は止めどなく溢れる、_  
I cannot stop the words I want to convey, I'm flowing over _

何度も、何度でも、僕は君に恋をする。_  
Again and again I give my love to you_

She didn't want to change it. She remembered watching this movie with Yukari before. Deep inside, Minako wanted Akihiko to be like the main hero in the movie, except she didn't want Akihiko to end up like the hero in the end. Even though he treated her like a little sister back then, that was the only thing that setted her apart from his fangirls...But, it felt like she pushed him aside for someone who was even more unattainable. Before she '_died_', she remembered being held by Akihiko tightly, promising to stay by each other's side forever...

"...I feel so stupid...But...This is what I really want..." she whispered.

After all this time...The reason why she dumped Akihiko...was simply out of _revenge_. It was selfish. It was stupid. Though, during that whole time when Shinjiro was on the team, Shinji cared for her...and even realized his feelings for her. Her time with him was short, but she loved him dearly. When he 'died', it felt like she lost something more than just her Senpai... He noticed her feelings for him quite easily...Even though Shinji pushed her away so many times, she kept pursuing him until she said those three special words... That's when everything fell into place for her. She found someone she loved, and she couldn't bear letting him go.

But...

Who was the one that became stronger? Who was the one who took Shinji's 'death' directly, and just kept pushing on? It wasn't Minako. Those thoughts of Shinjiro kept her crying each and every night, until she began to talk to Akihiko once more. She remembered how he took it. He tried to not cry...but he managed to push on. Even if she only had Akihiko's shoulder to cry on, she always felt like something was wrong whenever she sees him with those girls and how he simply thought of her. Only as his team mate. Only as one of the leader of SEES. Only as the girl who resembled his dead sister...

When he told her he loved her...It made her feel even more special...Until now.

さようなら、また会おう、御免ね、好きだよ、  
_Goodbye, let's meet again, I love you _

さようなら、笑ってよ、おこんなよ、バカだな、  
_Goodbye, won't you laugh, please don't be angry, you're so silly _

恋しい苦しい、愛しいじゃたりない、  
_So lovely, so painful, so beloved, it's not enough _

何度も、何度でも、叫ぶよ 「好きだよ」、  
_Again and again I cry out, "I love you "_

さようなら  
_Goodbye_

"...Minako."

Minako looked up to see silver hair. There, Akihiko stood there, apparently out of breath.

"Aki, I-"

"Thank god you're okay!" he said, hugging her. "Shinji and I have been searching the area for you!"

She had felt those arms around her tightly. Her mind screamed out to hold him tightly, but her body just froze. She could hear the next track of her MP3 play faintly into her earphones. Her eyes slowly closed, not letting this moment go to waste. Slowly, she felt Akihiko moving away from her, giving her a light smile. He gently ruffled her chestnut-colored hair, before helping her walk back to the dormitory. Her hand reached up, and gripped the end of his shirt, looking down with a small smile.

"Thanks for looking for me..." she muttered.

She noticed the tiny blush on his face, only to return that exact same smile.

* * *

"The Seven Lucky Gods, actually take form of different guardians."

Fuuka lightly smiled to the other members of SEES, as they gathered in the lounge the next day. Everyone except for Ken was sitting around, listening to this brief meeting. It was still early in the morning, where everyone was half-awake. Mitsuru stood around apparently glaring at Junpei who was about to pass out once again, where he was nudged by Yukari. Meanwhile, Minako was sitting next to Shinjiro, while her brother was casually standing nearby them.

"What myself and Yamagishi had found out, was that they are scattered in different parts of Japan." Mitsuru explained. "We will split up and go to those prefectures where we suspect they may be. For now, I believe that I will go with Aegis, and you're coming with us, Shinjiro." she ordered.

"Wait, Mitsuru-senpai, don't you think it's easier if..." Yukari spoke up.

"It's fine." Shinjiro said. "She's only worried about my health, don't worry. If I go with Minako, I don't want her to panic." he shrugged.

"We each splitted the teams up to make it easier, so it's completely random." Fuuka smiled. "Minato-kun, you'll be going with Yukari, Junpei. While, Minako-chan goes with Akihiko, and myself."

Minako felt her eyes batting at the assignment oddly. This...wasn't just some sort of coincidence, right? So, she will be going with Akihiko...? She knows that Fuuka still harbors feelings for her older brother...and it must've felt painful to deal with it. Though, it would've been easier to have a neutral person with them, after all. Otherwise, Minako would've dealt with so much drama that even she would get so stressed out from it.

"This will be difficult due to the fact that the Arisatos will have a limited time. We will go off on our own by tommorrow morning. For now, we will split up, and eventually meet up at the final destination, which will be in Kyoto." Mitsuru said. "We're dismissed."

Minako couldn't help, but to feel her heart pounding. How can she work with Akihiko if this was going to happen? She wanted to switch places with her brother so she could talk about it to Yukari...But, for now, she had to follow Mitsuru's orders. To her, she had to think...Why her? Why must everything happen to her and her brother? Isn't there a way for them to save everyone and not be a forgotten memory?

As everyone dispersed to either head to work, or go do other errands, Akihiko was pulled aside by Shinjiro. Now, the boxer looked at his best friend, feeling a tad bit uneasy. He furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what was up with him. It was strange..but the day before, he had noticed that Shinjiro was perfectly fine, and now something still's up with his health? Was it because of those stupid pills that Shinjiro got back then?

"Yeah, yeah, before you go yelling at me and all that shit, you'd better listen." Shinjiro grumbled.

"Are you still sick?" Akihiko questioned.

"Yeah." Shinjiro muttered. "Those suppressants had some..._side effects_. Mitsuru had some doctors check over me for the past years. And...I'm like _her_. My time in this world is runnin' out..."

Akihiko looked down. So, they weren't going to lose just the Arisato siblings...They were going to lose Shinjiro again. They noticed someone was watching them. Turning, they looked to see Minako clearly stunned by the sudden news. Not wanting to talk to her, Shinjiro simply strided past her, leaving her alone with Akihiko. This was like a repeat of the past. Minako had the exact same face when she saw Shinjiro 'die' for the first time...

"_Why...?_" she whispered. "Why didn't he tell me this?"

"He still loves you, and he doesn't want you to cry over him again. I mean, if something bad had happened to him and you were there, he doesn't want to see that sad face of yours..." Akihiko muttered. "Neither of us doesn't want to see you cry. You mean a lot to the both of us. That's why we want to protect you." he said, apparently trying to hide his embarrassed look.

A small relieved smile formed on Minako's face, as she slowly nodded. Akihiko couldn't help, but to mirror that smile to her. He slowly moved closer to her and gave her a brief kiss to the forehead. A giggle escaped her lips, feeling his hand messing up her hair once more. Her smile was all that he needed right?...But he wanted to kiss her. And touch her. He needed to resist that temptation to not let Shinjiro suffer through this drama.

"...Aki?" Minako questioned.

Giving her a brief kiss on the lips, Akihiko looked at her shyly, before slowly walking away from her. The female Arisato felt her face turning red, and her eyes gazing at the floor, feeling her heart racing. She knew it. She absolutely knew it. Even if she fell in love with Shinjiro, it was clear as day...

_She still wanted Akihiko more than ever_.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **_A random muse sparked into my mind when I was thinking of this chapter... Akihiko in Persona 4: Mayonaka Arena. Yes, that picture. Anyways, this makes up for my lack of an update because of school.  
_**Disclaimer: **_I, KawaiiTenshiCeres, does not own Persona 3 Portable by ATLUS, nor Teenage Dream by Katy Perry._

* * *

**Teenage Dream**  
**Chapter Six**

* * *

_She had that face that I haven't seen in while..._

_Something that I wanted to cherish in my memories for the longest time now..._

"Aki...Aki!"

Wincing at the bright sunlight hitting his face, Akihiko couldn't help, but to pull the covers over his shirtless body. He had spent the whole entire day yesterday packing and unpacking, while he had to balance his training. His muscles felt okay, but his mind was exhausted. He didn't talk to Minako for the rest of the day yesterday after he kissed her. Frankly, he had to cool off his head and only training got his mind off of things.

"Aki! You'd better get up, or I'm going in!"

Her voice quickly made the man sit up, and slowly approach the door. Opening the door with a dazed look, Akihiko looked down to see Minako, apparently stunned by his current appearance. He noticed her face was slowly turning red. Letting out a sigh, he heard one of the doors creak open, quickly prompting him to pull Minako into his room. Already, it was embarassing enough that he was already half-naked, along with the fact that he had to deal with the only girl that he ran away from.

"S-Sorry to ask this," she studdered. "...But what _happened _to you?"

"Hm?"

Her fingers lightly touched his chest, her large eyes gazing at the three scars engraved in his chest. "You looked like you fought a tiger or something..." she trailed off. "Typical.."

"It was a bear," he corrected. "I fought a bear when I went to train in the forest for two weeks. That thing was tough though, I had to murder that beast because it nearly ate me alive..." he stopped, noticing the girl's stunned face. "Ah, uh.. Never mind. Thanks for the wake up call, but can you at least step out so I can change?"

Watching her large red eyes batting in confusion, Minako nodded as she left the room. Locking his door, Akihiko felt his face turning red, quickly using his hand to push back his silver locks. He was embarassed. Practically, the girl was his weakness. He missed being touched by her, and he already missed touching her. Already, he knew this trip was rigged somehow to get them back together. It wasn't just some stupid coincidence.

"_She'll just focus all of her love on the guy who's dying, shouldn't she?_" he muttered to himself, quickly getting his clothes and began to change.

* * *

"_Alright. Yamagishi and I have planned out the locations carefully, so we each need to simply head there and check the shrines. Me, Aegis, and Shinjiro will go to Mikage-cho. Arisato-kun, Takeba, and Iori will go to Sumaru City. Yamagishi, Akihiko, and Minako will go to Yasoinaba._"

Already on the train, Minako was sitting next to Fuuka, and coincidentally across from Akihiko. She hasn't been to Inaba since high school, when she went to camp with her friends, Rio and Yuko. Hopefully, it didn't change _too _much since she's been there. She did like eating at Aiya when she managed to go out to check out the town with the two of them. Probably she can try to convince Fuuka to come with her...Then again, she highly doubted she'll be interested. The only person who might be willing to go with her was _him, _but obviously, things have been quite awkward between them.

"Didn't you go to Yasoinaba back in high school, Minako-chan?" Fuuka questioned. "You were gone for a week for training for the tennis club, right?"

"Yeah. We stayed at the Amagi Inn, so probably that's the place where Mitsuru-senpai arranged for us to stay at," she smiled. "It was fun, since there was a hot springs and we were telling ghost stories. Plus, there was a really great place to eat in the Shopping District! I took up on the challenge, but it was so much food!"

Akihiko could notice her enthusiasm when it came to food. Heck, that was the reason why he loved eating out with her. She wasn't sticking to some hunger diet like most girls. Whenever he took her out to eat, they always end up eating a hearty meal and running back to the dorm to burn off the calories. Then again, they haven't been talking much. If he asked her out to eat like it was nothing, would she take it the wrong way?

"_Next stop. Yasoinaba. Yasoinaba._"

The trio quickly got up and gathered their belongings, as the train slowed down to a stop. They left the train seeing...farmland. Well, it was quite different than what they were used to. Going to the Inn was going to be a bit difficult for the three of them. They had to take a lengthy bus ride there. After they dropped off their belongings, they had to search for a shrine or temple. Of course, it would've been several times better if they had found what they were looking for and simply went off on their way.

"So, the Amagi Inn..." Fuuka spoke up. "We need to take the bus at the Shopping District area, then we'll be there in twenty minutes. It's the last stop on the bus, so we don't really need to worry about getting off at the wrong place."

"Well, that's good," Minako sighed. "I would be the tour guide here, then again, we didn't really do much other than eat out and train."

"We can use this chance to sightsee once we're finish finding out some things," Fuuka smiled. "I'm pretty sure the other groups might be doing the same."

Akihiko did feel a bit awkward. After all, other than Shinjiro, he was placed in the group with two other girls. The only girl he mainly hung out with, was Minako. Mitsuru was a different story, since they mainly talked about fighting, otherwise, he wouldn't even go near that fierce woman. He didn't know what to talk about to them, other than the mission itself. He simply had to stay silent while the two girls chatted. Hopefully...this wasn't going to be too much of a bad trip.

* * *

"WHAT?"

Minako was in total shock. As soon as they had arrived, she wanted to run to Aiya to try and attempt the challenge once more...But then, she realized that during their stay here, it wasn't even going to rain...Though, this wasn't the reason why she had an outburst in their room. Actually, Fuuka had told her that she had to stay behind to keep in contact with Mitsuru, along with the fact that she was extremely exhausted from their trip. That just left Minako with Akihiko to explore Inaba.

"I'm sorry, Minako-chan!" Fuuka smiled nervously. "But, these were Mitsuru-senpai's orders. I'll still contact you through your cell phone if something comes up!"

What _can_ she even do now? She was going to be alone with the man that she had an awkward moment with this morning. It was no use trying to avoid him. This time was already precious enough to them as it is.

"_Are you ready?_" Akihiko called out, as he knocked on the door.

"Yeah! I'm coming!" Minako replied, quickly getting the door. "Come on, Aki."

"Wait, isn't-"

Closing the door behind her, Minako sighed, before looking at her silver-haired upperclassman. "Fuuka's tired, so we're on our own for now..."

"Then...do you want to go find a place to eat?" he spoke up. "You said something about a restaraunt, so we can probably head over there when we look for that shrine."

Her eyes batted at Akihiko, sparking him to look a bit nervous. He quickly averted his eyes, hoping she wouldn't ask him anything. Instead, he felt her hand grabbing his, quickly walking towards the entrance to the Inn. Their fingers laced together. Feeling each other's warmth. This was like high school all over again. If only...If only they were still in high school. If only there wasn't Nyx to worry about before. He still would've loved her, even if she was simply his underclassman.

"Hey, Aki...Can I ask you something?" she spoke up.

Raising an eyebrow, the boxer stared at the brunette, who was sounding a bit worried at the moment. "What is it?"

"Is it alright, if I stayed with you tonight?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **_Originally, this was supposed to be posted on Valentine's Day...Unfortunately, school murdered me before I could even finish this by then, so...Sorry for it being two months late~  
_**Disclaimer: **_I, KawaiiTenshiCeres, does not own Persona 3 Portable by ATLUS, nor Teenage Dream by Katy Perry._

* * *

**Teenage Dream**  
**Chapter Seven**

* * *

_Was she desperate?_

_Did...Did it really seem to be alright?_

Akihiko felt his face turning red at Minako's bold statement. Her with him, alone for the whole night? What made her say such a thing? A slightly uncomfortable look was on his face, where he quickly looked away. He felt her hand gripping his, her eyes looking into his. 'Let go.', 'What about Shinji?', 'Why...?'... He had so many things to say to her, but he couldn't speak. Was this how it felt like? Having someone you missed so much suddenly come back to you...Even though you were desperate to try and forget them?

Her hands were shaking. She wasn't going to let go.

"Minako..." he muttered.

"Aki...Listen, I have reasons for saying that, but I-"

"Calm down." Akihiko sighed. "Right now...We need to focus on this mission. I also wanted to talk about what's going on between _us_, but what matters right now is your life. If I lose you before I can say anything, I don't think I can forgive myself."

The girl quickly nodded, trying to not get to concerned over his scolding. "You're right...Sorry, Aki..." she whispered.

This looked like she wasn't over it. She didn't release his hand at all when they headed into town once more. They looked like some couple who came out to Inaba for a vacation. During their whole trip into town, they didn't bother saying anything to each other. They were both in thought. Sure, they needed to sort this whole messy affair out, but this mission was far more important to them right now. They both needed to talk to each other like _adults_. This wasn't high school for them anymore.

* * *

"Here it is! The Shopping District...Eh?"

People who passed by them looked at them oddly. They certainly stood out from the natives to this town after all. To most people, they looked like some couple who seemed like they were forced to come to Inaba against their will. The Shopping District had greatly fewer shops compared to how Minako remembered it. Though, they had to look for the main clue...A shrine. Any shrine would do for now. As long as they have some sort of clue, they would be fine...

"...Ah! Look!"

Pointing at the dusty old shrine, tucked away between some buildings, the pair quickly wandered into it, noticing it was quite empty. There was a collection box along with a large collection of emas hanging there. By the looks of things, this shrine wasn't _totally_ deserted. It was just empty right now...Pretty much like the shrine back home.

"Where should we start?" Akihiko sighed. "This place is pretty small, but we might be able to find something."

Her eyes looked around, looking for any sort of sign. Her eyes looked at the collection box, spotting something shiny engraved in the wood. For some reason, she was drawn to it, forcing her to slowly walk over there. She knelt down, noticing a golden jewel engraved in it. Minako wanted to touch it. She wanted to see what would happen. The voice in her head kept telling her that something was wrong, but her body slowly kept moving for it.

"Minako, did you find- Minako!"

Something was indeed wrong. Minako's eyes widened from the contact with this mysterious jewel. Her eyes slowly turned dark and hazy. Her body froze up, unable to even look at the panicked boxer, who was rushing to her side. Her body fell to the ground, hard, while her hand gripped an object. Akihiko knelt down, picking up her body, cradling her in his arms. He inspected her closely. Her eyes were closed, but she was still breathing.

"Oi! Minako! Minako!" he shouted.

"..._Dai...ko...ku...ten..._" she whispered.

"Daikokuten?" Akihiko echoed, slowly prying her hand open. "What the hell...?"

"_...A...ki..._" Minako whispered, quietly opening her eyes.

"Minako! What happened?" he shouted.

She sat up, wincing at the pain. "I...I don't know...When I touched it...A voice called out to me, saying 'Daikokuten'..." she whispered. "But...At the same time, I saw Ryoji..."

Mochizuki Ryoji...The avatar of Nyx. Out of all things to come into mind, why did his human form pop into her mind? Akihiko did recall during that short time when Ryoji was at their school. He was flirting with Minako to the point that Akihiko was on the verge of murdering him. He didn't even know what went down in her room during December 31...Though, he was somewhat relieved that Minako managed to not kill him...

"Ryoji...huh..." Akihiko sighed. "Alright, we better head back to the Inn and tell Fuuka. Can you stand up?"

A frustrated look was on Minako's face, while a tiny pout formed on her lips. "...Now?...I wanted to go to Aiya..."

He couldn't help, but to crack a smile, and gently ruffle Minako's hair. "Alright. Let's go."

* * *

"...How the hell did you get so heavy?"

Carrying the sighing Minako on his back, Akihiko couldn't help, but to mirror that absent sigh. They went off to Aiya for a bit where they ate and talked for a while. As they left, however, for some reason Minako felt a bit weak, and nearly fainted again...Which obviously made this boxer carry her back to the Amagi Inn. They were nearly approaching the Inn, where the entire trip was filled with silence. They _really _needed to talk.

"Aki..." Minako spoke up. "I...still want to stay with you tonight."

"Why are you so set on sleeping in the same room as me?" Akihiko sighed. "It really doesn't sound like you. Besides, love Shinji while the two of you still have time in this world. You and him both know that you two belong together either way."

The brunette buried her face against his back, hugging his neck. She couldn't answer. When he was about to slide the door open to her and Fuuka's room, he could feel her fingers tightening on his shirt, forcing him to stop. It was a sign that she didn't want to let go. For a moment...He wanted to do something. He wanted to comfort her in some way...But, this is his best friend's girl. He knew that Shinjiro changed because of _her_.

"Come on, let go, otherwise, I'll force you off," he groaned.

"I don't want to!" Minako complained. "I really don't want to let you go."

"Stop acting like that. I mean it," Akihiko said sternly.

Minako slowly released her hands, as Akihiko gently placed her down. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she kept avoiding eye contact at all costs. He wanted to know what was up with her. Why was she so desperate to keep switching back and forth from him and Shinjiro? It didn't make any sense to him one bit. Akihiko sighed. He was better off leaving her alone for the night. Anymore of this, and who knew how much he was going to blame himself later on.

"_It's better to marry someone you love second best than the one you love the most_," Minako started. "But..._At the moment, you're about to lose the person you love the most in your life...You'll realize he or she will be the one_...Isn't this true?"

His eyes gazed at her to look at her face. She wasn't lying. Taking a deep breath, Akihiko gently put his hand on her shoulder, and looked at her in the eye.

"It's obvious that I still love you," he began. "...But, I broke up with you for a reason. Shinji, he needs you right now, a lot more than I do. I promise you, I will make you happy, but not in a romantic way right now. We're battling time right now, and if we don't focus on this, I will lose you. And I never want to lose you, ever. Because, I want to stay by your side forever..." he trailed off.

"...Aki...Aki...I-"

"Now...go to sleep," he smiled lightly, placing a brief kiss on her forehead, before going into his room.

Closing the door behind him, Akihiko leaned on the door, and slid down to the floor. He wanted to punch something so badly for making himself say such a thing. He could hear her crying on the other side of the door. This was one of the most painful things he has ever done to her. He wanted to rush out there and apologize to her. Instead, he covered his eyes with a painful look on his face. Akihiko couldn't help, but to curse himself over this whole affair. He had a chance to be with her again, but thinking about the mission got in the way of what he was truely feeling...

"_I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, Minako..._"


End file.
